Kannushi Monogatari
by iamreadingyourightnowwithlove
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki, the one who bears the burden of being the warden of the Nine-Tailed Fox. That is what the people of Konoha know him as, has been for years. However, he has a destiny far greater than anyone has ever imagined. Will he bring forth the blessing of salvation or the curse of extinction? Rating may increase later on because of language.
1. Visitation

Summary: Naruto Uzumaki, the one who bears the burden of being the warden of the Nine-Tailed Fox. That is what the people of Konoha know him as, has been for years. However, he has a destiny far greater than anyone has ever imagined. Will he bring forth the blessing of salvation or the curse of extinction?

Warnings/Notes: LGBT Themes, (implied) violent themes, minor inspiration from Japanese Mythology and Religion, extremely minor crossover themes (if there are any), there may be different POV in every chapter. As this story would be considered a semi-alternate reality, please understand that some of the characters would most probably become off character from their canon selves.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, nor do intentionally wish to insult, offend, smear, besmirch, desecrate, or initiate any of kind "blasphemous" deeds, towards anyone sensitive to the warnings mentioned above, nor to anyone who are sensitive in regards to any of the references being used. Every word written in this work is for artistic expression, and should not be taken on a personal level. Any resemblance to real people, whether it be their physical appearance or their name, is purely coincidental. The warnings mentioned above will not be made mention of again, as it will be assumed that the reader has taken note and understood the warnings. The excuse of TL;DR does not excuse the reader from not reading the aforementioned warnings, this disclaimer and the following legend, and should not go out of their way to express their loathing in the review, as it would be both a waste of their time and mine. Constructive criticism and spelling corrections are welcome however, will be noted, and are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

"Normal"

" _Demon"_

 _Kami_

 _ **Time and/or Place; Start/End of Chapter**_

* * *

 _ **Unknown Date, Fragments of the Past**_

"There is no other option, we must seal..."

"Wait Brother! There is..."

.

.

.

"Why do you have to sacrifice yourself for my sake?!"

"Dying to make his child have a better life... that's the..."

.

.

.

"... don't be a picky eater... I was never good at it... maybe you will... don't fall for a strange one... try to find someone... like me."

"Find a goal... a dream... and don't stop trying until it comes true!..."

"... listen to your motor-mouthed mom."

.

.

.

 _Though this life will bring you challenges and hardship, I wish for your happiness. Take care...a...u..._

* * *

 _ **Present Day, Village Outskirts, Konohagakure no Sato**_

"What?!" I awoke with a jolt from the dream that I just had. "Ugh, the same dream again after all this time, couldn't it have given me a few..." I checked the alarm clock to see how early it is... 6:30 in the morning. "Huh, I guess I woke up just in time, thanks dream and mysterious voices in the dream"

" _Good morning Konnushi-chan. I see that my own slumber is disrupted by your own awakening as usual"_ A light, yet guttural, whisper filtered through my head, in its usual sleepy manner.

"Good morning Ku-chan! Sorry if I woke you up from your slumber, I had that weird dream again."

" _The one that sounded like a broken record?"_

"That one. Well, at least I can say I know a bit more about the dream now."

" _Interesting, but maybe we should talk about it later, it is uncommon for you to be up on time, so we best make most of the time getting ready."_

"Right."

For those who could not follow, let me introduce myself. Hi there, my name's Uzumaki Naruto, twelve years old, I love ramen, I am currently studying at the Konoha Shinobi Academy, I love ramen, I dream of being Hokage, oh and did I mention I love ramen? Pretty much just a little boy who has big dreams for the future.

Well, I would have left it at that if that were just the case. Not saying I am some happy-go-lucky kid who did a complete one-eighty on the personality, nah it went more like this.

You see, way back when, like let's say seven years ago, I was being chased by a mob (I'll get to the mob part in just a second) who wanted to burn me alive for some ritual sacrifice mumbo jumbo. Heck they even had this bald dude with a bunch of beads wrapped around his neck, but he wasn't the real deal, trust me, I would know. Anyway what pretty much happened was a series of fortunate events, because it would pretty much be good fortune for me to find where I am right now, and more importantly, what I am.

* * *

 _ **Seven years ago**_

It had stated out a decent day, as decent as it could get for a five year old orphan at least, and was only going to head over to Jiji, or as he is formally called, the Sandaime Hokage. He's pretty much the head honcho in the village, everyone looks up to him and respects him. I want to be like him someday, someone important. Like the Yondaime Hokage, the one who was supposed to be the leader now, but he died while fighting the Kyūbi no Kitsune a few years had to take over leading the village again because of that, but even with his old age, he can most probably beat up every ninja on duty with both hands tied behind his back.

As I was meandering about in my thoughts, I bumped into someone. Now normally when people bump into each other, things tend to go like this if I were a normal little boy who everyone would basically expect that they didn't know any better: Offender apologizes, Offended would say it's alright and all that hashish, and both parties would leave amicably.

However in this scenario:

"You piece of shit! Did you just bump into me!" Offended ended up yelling, and upon close inspection, he looked like one of those high standing religious types. Also known as Lynch Mob Instigators No. Who gives a crap. At this point, the civilians all around have overheard, and then cue the not-so-slowly escalating murmurs.

"He bumped into that priest!"

"How disrespectful!"

"Is the demon brat trying to mug him?!"

"How could he not know that he's a holy man?! Shouldn't he be burning by now?!"

"He must be some other kind of monster then!"

"We should teach that demon some respect!"

"Burn the demon!"

"Yeah!"

And that is my cue to start running for my dear life. You may be wondering why that sounded pretty tame, think of it this way, with the amount of whispering that was escalating to the levels of outright yelling, those few sentences are the only ones I could really make out. Now normally at this point I would have ran towards the Hokage Tower or somewhere that these nutjobs won't catch me. Unfortunately for me, the day that I just so happened to decide to go out in the open, is the day that there is some road work being done at most of the main streets connecting to the Hokage Tower, and the only other place where I could safely hide, the sweet repository of the food of the gods Ichiraku Ramen, is currently closed as Teuch-oji would be at the other end of the village having a meeting with Konoha's Merchant Guild, and Ayame-neesan is at the Civilian Training Center, dunno what she's doing there but to each their own, like me running for my life.

Unfortunately for me, given that I am a five year old at that time, and that pretty much every other civilian is in cahoots with the mob, it was only a matter of time before the peanut galley corners me at a dead end and it is gonna be a one way trip for me going to the hospital. The chase ended up going all the way through the night, at the point where anyone can see the moon clearly at the sky, and even though I am running for my dear life at this moment, I could not help but bask in its beauty briefly as I make evasive maneuvers around the village. The irony of having a beautiful moon shining throughout a night such as this would be something I would appreciate more after I survive this ordeal.

"We've got the demon surrounded, give it everything that it deserves."

Though in hindsight, I probably should have been paying more attention to my surroundings. But looking back, I would never regret a single action I have made that day, for it had gotten me to where I am now.

At that time though, all I wanted was to just go somewhere safe, a place where I won't get hurt. I just wanted to be like every other kid in the village. Someone who was free, who was loved, not someone who would be chased by a mob for something minor and trivial as an accident. Or that maybe, for once, I want to be what they accuse me of. Demon. Monster. Maybe if I were those things, I would show them, and then they would finally leave me alone!

But... despite that, I know deep in my heart, that I cannot ever become who they want me to be, I cannot become the monster they accuse me of, because I wanted to not only be better than them. I wanted them, to know that regardless of what they do to me, I would never intend to harm them.

I want to love and protect them.

And it was at that moment of realization while I was running for my life that, for the first time in my life, a warm, gentle feeling, deep in my heart, telling me something that would change my life forever.

 _Close your eyes and focus on this feeling, We will take care of the rest._

As this was a matter of life and death, I did what was instructed as quickly as I could, at first it was just a warm feeling, and slowly it began to intensify, as if it was about to consume my whole being. However, this feeling, it does not feel painful at all, if anything, it feels like arms wrapping around my body, kind of like those hugs that I see some kids get from their mothers. I was curious as to what is happening that I wanted to open my eyes and see what is going on, but I was afraid that the feeling would leave me, and if this was the closest that I would get to having a hug from someone, I want to always relish the feeling as long as I could.

However, little by little, the intensity of the feeling began to fade, but it was still there with me, and for some reason, I know that I was safe now.

* * *

 _ **Unknown Location**_

 _You may open your eyes now, little one_.

And open them I did, and truly I was amazed by what I saw. I can see the entire village at the horizon, high enough that I can see the tops of each of the heads of the Hokage Rock. I turn around observe my surroundings to get a bearing of where exactly I am, but all I could tell is that I am surrounded by trees, and there are these floating lights all around the place. They look like multicolored tongues of fire, slowly moving at their own rhythm, in a way they illuminated the entire place, like how a swarm of fireflies would light up a river during the summer nights. From the light that they are giving however, I can make out a path moving further into the expanse of trees all around me.

I moved further in, with only the lights from these wisps illuminating my path, however it did not take me long to reach my supposed destination. It looked like some sort of temple, but I do not think I have seen this one before. You see, I had tried communing with the villages around me way before all this happened and I noticed that people go to temples and shrines, I tried going to one and needless to say, I was chased out of most of them, and one of them even tried "exorcising the evil presence by trial of fire", the fire being fire element ninjutsu from the ninja that were there visiting at the time, I made sure thereafter that I would avoid all routes leading to that temple that day on.

I still took the time to learn what I needed and more in the Library closest to the Hokage Tower, as I found out one time though overhearing a random group of gossiping old ladies, and with confirmation from Jiji, that there are copies of all the scriptures of each temple present in the library, well, a lot more than that actually once I perused through everything I could get my hands on. But enough about my adventures in the library, that is not really the point of this recollection. The point of the matter was the temple that I did not recognize from any of the others in the village, nor from the archives in the library for that matter.

This one looked different, at the front of the temple, I could make out a red spiral painted above the entrance, like that of the flak jackets worn by some of the higher ranking shinobi in the village, though here it looks like it began to fade over the course of time. Heck it looked like everything needed more than just a fresh coat of paint, but I feel something pulling me further inside the main building, so further in I went, and what was inside was pretty surprising.

Statues all around, I could not tell how many, but all were kowtowing and facing towards one lone statue softly glowing white. As I made my approach towards the center, I could make out that the statue was that of a fox depicted at rest. It was obvious that this temple was focused on the worship of this fox, but I was unfamiliar at the time on who the fox was. But as I stand before the statue, I feel something within me stir, that I should feel at ease but remain cautious.

 _Greetings, Little One. We are most pleased that you stand before us._

"Who's there?" I began to look around, in search of the voice. It could be anything after all, that power that took me away from the villagers, or someone who could immediately send me back to them and more.

 _While We find it commendable that your instincts are telling you to be wary, your caution is not needed. For you are always safe here, for you are one of our chosen._

It was then I noticed that it was the fox statue that was the source of the voice that I was hearing, as I noticed that when I heard the voice speak each syllable, the light of the statue began to pulsate in time with every syllable uttered by the voice. As I listened to the voice, the feeling inside me that stirred began to unwind, as if I should no longer be wary of the presence before me.

"Who are you?"

 _We believe that, though We would like to indulge you with your request for our identity, We believe that you must also hear the voice of the third party amongst us, or rather within you._

I did not understand what the voice said at the time, both about the third party that they had mentioned nor anything about 'within me'. It was then while I was ruminating about their words is when I noticed a soft red glow coming from my navel, slowly growing brighter by the second, while everything around me except for the fox statue was consumed by darkness all around. Once the darkness had settled in, the intensity of the light from my navel subsided to a soft glow, the only other thing other than the fox statue illuminating the darkness.

 _Please reveal yourself to your young host, Kurama._

Again, I did not know whom the fox statue was speaking to, until I heard another voice join us, the source of which was from my navel.

" _As you wish, ōkami-sama"_

The red light from my navel burst forth into several wisps of light, just like the ones that I saw from outside. They danced around the darkness, yet the light did not illuminate anything around us, instead, the wisps grew brighter as the rhythm of their dance grew, until they all settled into one glowing red orb, that slowly made its descent to the ground. As it touched the ground, it began to slowly split itself into a burning four legged form.

"No way..."

Slowly, the form began growing in size as streams of this strange flame began to burst forth from what I assumed where a tail is supposed to go. As it reached up to nine tails, it was then I realized who was in front of me, the demon that had ravaged Konohagakure a few years back. Though I may not have been there, anyone who had briefly touched upon the village's history would know, especially in my case as I had looked up to the Yondaime Hokage, the one who had supposedly slain the demon that threatened to destroy Konoha.

"Kyūbi no Kitsune."

" _We finally meet, young one. Though as ōkami-sama had said earlier, my real name, is Kurama."_

For a giant fox though that had supposedly went on a rampage, the fox's voice was pretty even and very calming actually. Though for some reason, it also felt sad, as if the fox was keeping something inside for quite some time. Before I could say something however, the fox statue began to speak once more.

 _Now that we are all gathered together and that you have introduced yourself my dear servant, We believe you should introduce us to our Little One, do you not think so._

" _Yes ōkami-sama. Young one, it is with honor that I, Kurama, who bears the title Kyūbi no Kitsune with pride and solemn duty, that I introduce to you, the Kami of Foxes, of Fertility, Rice, Tea and Sake, of Agriculture and Industry, of General Prosperity and Worldly Success, and one of the Principal Kami, Inari Ōkami!"_

I guess that should explain how I was transported here, however, for the time I spent before going to the various temples, I have never encountered, nor heard any mention of an Inari anything really.

"Inari Ōkami? Wait a minute, if you are one of the principal kami, why have I not seen any of your shrines within the village?"

Somehow, it seems like it is the wrong thing to ask a deity. After I had asked, the air did not feel right anymore. It felt like it carried a lot sadness and anger, and somehow I feel like it is coming from both Kurama and the fox... no Inari Ōkami.

"Did I say something wrong?"

" _No young one, it is not that. The reason why ōkami-sama does not have any shrines in your village, well, it is because of what I was forced to do years ago."_

"You mean when you rampaged across the village."

" _Yes. You see, that is only one part of the story, a very long story, one that has started eons ago. Though I am not sure if we have the time to discuss everything, but rest assured we will discuss this once it becomes relevant. To put it into summary in regards to as you say it, my "rampage", my actions were forced that night."_

 _However, it is because of those same events that had occurred that night, a blight has been cast upon their hearts, where their fear has taken over their rationality, most notably anything that has any relation to foxes of any kind. It is with that fear however, they had gotten the urge to abolish Us out of their lives, for instead of us being seen as one of their guardians, we are now a reminder of their pain. Though their actions gives great pain to Us, it is with great understanding that we persevere through their fear. But in their fear, they have turned their anguish towards an innocent child. You._

"But why? I mean, I get why they are afraid of Kurama, and I sort of understand why they became afraid of you, but the only thing I never understood is why..."

At that point, I started venting out everything how I felt about their fear turned on me. I never really understood at the time why all the villagers look at me, why every single time I am around them, I feel their loathing, and their grief, how I could never understand what they really want with me. Do they want me to die, to disappear? I could never really tell, but as I let out all my frustrations, I never noticed how tears began to fall from my eyes, nor did I notice Kurama's tails began to wrap around me, until I am covered in the warmth of the Kyūbi's fur. In the safety of his warmth, I buried my face in his fur, if only to muffle out the scream that I let out, but I have a feeling that Inari Ōkami heard me scream despite my efforts.

" _Are you alright now child?"_

"I think so... I'm sorry I never really had anyone to talk to about how I felt."

 _Little One, We, that is both Kurama and I, of all beings, understand how you feel. Sadly, We must inform you the reason as to why you are the target of the villagers' ire. Though it is up to you if you wish to hear the truth._

I can tell by Inari Ōkami's voice that she is hesitating whether or not to tell me the truth. It must be more serious than I thought if it could make even one of the gods second guess their actions. However...

"I have been living in fear and sadness all my life, and most of it came from the villagers' treatment of me. Yet all this time, I never knew why, I think it is time that I deserve to know what is really going on."

 _Very well Little One. However, this may change your opinion of a certain person. Kurama, the Ky_ _ū_ _bi no Kitsune, as you could see, did not die by the hands of your Yondaime Hokage. Instead, as Kurama was forced_ _to wreak havoc and destruction due to the manipulative ambitions of one, the Yondaime Hokage was forced to put the safety of the village first. Kurama is one of few select beings that cannot be destroyed by any means, they can only be sealed into a special container. A human one._

"No..."

I began to wrap my arms around myself, while Kurama's tails began to wrap around me in comfort, which I strangely enough sink into, for which I am grateful for. Though Inari Ōkami did not say it outright, all the pieces are laid out and fit together to form one answer.

 _You, Uzumaki Naruto, born on the tenth night of October, are the third jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox._

Hearing the confirmation of my status, I could not help but bury myself again in Kurama's fur and let out a long scream of anguish. All these years, why was I never told of what I bear? If I had known a long time ago... I could not see how it could have been different really. Would I have given up on life if I had known? Would I subject myself to the physical and emotional torture dealt upon me by the villagers to put an end to their inner torment? Thinking on the "what could have been", I slowly realized that, whether or not I knew before, there is nothing that could change what I am. Just as there is nothing that could change how I feel.

"Kurama."

" _Yes young one?"_

"Do you hate what I am? I am the one keeping you prisoner after all."

" _Oh child, I may be kept prisoner within you, but even then, I could never hate you, for I see you as one of mine."_

"Why?"

" _This is because I have taken it upon myself to love you, as your parents would have, had they been still alive to this day. For every time you are harmed by the hands of others, I had done all I could within this prison to heal every single blow, purge out every poison, and prevent every disease, if only so you would grow strong one day. All of which, I have done with love from not only me, but from your parents."_

This shocked me. The Kyūbi, seen by the entirety of the village as a being of hate, so far has only done everything it could to keep me alive. Not only that, but Kurama knows who my parents were, and that they would have loved me if they were still alive.

"Kurama, who were my parents?"

I felt that Kurama was about to answer, but... he seemed uncomfortable.

 _Dear Kurama, would you like Us to answer on your behalf?_

" _No ōkami-sama, I must be the one to answer this. I just need a little time in gathering my thoughts for the young one to understand."_

 _Very well, Kurama._

" _Young one... Naruto, please listen carefully to what I have to say, I do not want you to interrupt until both myself and ōkami-sama are finished explaining from this point on, do you understand me?"_

"As long as I know the truth Kurama, I would not ask for anything else."

" _Thank you young one. Your parents, were the one and only Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and his wife, my second jinchūriki, Uzumaki Kushina. Yes, they loved you very much, and it is because of that love that you are still here today. Minato and Kushina loved you the moment you took your first breath in this world. But because of the events that had occurred, they were not given a chance to become the parents that they wanted to be."_

This was a great shock, I cannot even fathom any words to say. All I could think about is how my parents were the ones who saved the village all those years ago, how my mother was Kurama's former prison, how I was loved by two people, who I barely even got to know, who I wanted to know. The only thing I do not understand is that if there could have been any other way the events that night have played, but I just could not verbalize what I wanted to say. The expression on my face must have said more than I thought because Kurama just looked at me and must have known what was going through my mind, if his next words are anything to go by.

" _In all honesty, they could have chosen any child in theory, however, there were two things that made them not do so. First of which, that only those of Uzumaki blood can become my vessel, as the chakra I carry is far too great for any other bloodline to carry, so I have been carried by one Uzumaki to another. Had Kushina remained my jinchūriki, I would have been passed down to you eventually once you were old enough."_

" _The second and most important reason however that held them back, was that they could never ask another to sacrifice their child, no parent in their right mind would. They could never force anyone to make that sacrifice. So, with great sadness, I was restrained by Kushina's Kongō Fūsa, while Minato invoked the Shiki Fūjin to summon a shinigami to seal me within you."_

" _However, in my madness at the time, I ended up dealing a killing blow on both your parents. I do not recall if it was in desperation or something else, there was just a red haze taking over me at the time, I knew what I was doing, but I do not know why I was doing it. It was only when I was finally being sealed within you, that I regained rational thought."_

" _Young one... please know that every single thing that I had knowingly done that night, I regret it. I may not have been happy imprisoned, but I would never have acted out in absolute rage without reason. I swear upon my patron kami, Inari Ōkami, with their divine presence bearing witness to my oath."_

It was here that I saw Kurama cry. How can anyone call the creature in front of me a demon? A demon would never cry for the death of my parents, nor would they have any regrets to their actions. No, Kurama was just a victim in all this, both in the past, and even now as my unwilling prisoner. Just as Kurama was my apparent lifeline all these years, and had been my emotional anchor throughout that night's revelations, I too shared emotional support through this by embracing one of Kurama's tails, just as tender as when Kurama had wrapped their tails around me, and I could feel Kurama returning the gesture, if only to reaffirm themselves. If that night's revelations have assured me of, it is that Kurama and I can always rely on one another, as we both share the bonds of pain given to us by circumstance. Of course we are aware that we are still in the presence of a divine being, but Inari Ōkami was gracious enough to spare us a few moments before the other reason why I was brought there to the temple came into light.

 _As much as We want you and your resident to establish and strengthen your bond Little One, We must ask if it can be done later on, as after all you and your resident have as long as you wish to do so, and we have more to discuss tonight. While my power can obscure us from the passage of time, due to the limited amount of faith in Us this day and age, the activity is taking its toll on Our limited presence here in your realm. Of course we are able to speak again later on, but We would prefer it if we are able to discuss it properly, as We do not wish to throw you amongst the trials that would come without warning._

I could feel that Kurama wanted to linger in my embrace for a little longer, and to be honest, I felt the same. However, I think we both felt at the time that whatever Inari Ōkami needed to say is really of importance, especially since if she really is amongst the principal kami, the admittance of her waning presence is a sign of the gravity of the situation, as it had been said that no divine being would admit to their faults. At least, that is what I have overheard during the times I tried to be involved in the temples at the village.

"I guess it must be really important, and to be honest I really was wondering why I am here. So I am guessing that the issue is more than just Kurama's imprisonment and my status as jinchūriki, am I correct?"

 _Yes Little One, and as you have given the same to our dear Kurama earlier, We implore that both you and Kurama remain silent until everything has been said. As you may recall, We have denoted you as "our" little one. As it is true that you belong to Kurama due to the bond that you share. You, Little One, also belong to Us, and when We say that, We truly meant both Ourselves, and Our other fellow kami. For you have been favorably chosen as Our representative in the mortal realm. Our Agent. Our Medium. Our Kannushi._

 _For this we are sure, as you have been chosen by those of higher station than Us. The reasons however, have yet to be known to Us and to Our fellow kami. All we truly know is that the reasons are in relation to the story Our dear Kurama had mentioned, but just as it was said earlier, once it is relevant to the situation, and once We clearly know the facts, we will not mention any further in regards to the story. Do understand Little One that We are not trying to hide the story from you because you are not ready, but it is because even We do not understand the full machinations of the higher station._

 _However, this does not mean We will leave you stranded, if anything, We, the principal kami, are given the task of teaching you what you would need for your station. Take note however Little One, that some of Us may ask you for a favor once in a while, or that we would be testing you in efforts on aiding your growth. Especially those of Us who are a bit more... We cannot truly say malicious in all honesty, We believe the more proper term would be that they are mischievous and nasty. We do not wish to give name as to who, as one of the duties you are tasked with is to keep an open mind and understanding heart in all things. We would wish to say more, but Our time on this plane is coming to a close._

Just as Inari Ōkami had finished speaking, the darkness that had surrounded us began to fade away. I could feel Kurama's hold on me waver slightly, as the same flames that had formed their presence began to dissolve into its original state, returning back inside me. But even as Kurama's form is no longer present, I can still feel the warmth of Kurama's tails wrapped around me as though it had never left. I took that as another sign that Kurama is here to stay with me, no matter what is said and done. Once the darkness has fully disappeared, everything in the room was just as the way we have left it, though I noticed that the glow from Inari Ōkami's statue began to dim, and I can hear their voice grow more weak and distant as the light

 _You have something within you that is special, and We are not talking about Kurama, Little One. No, truly what you have is something even We cannot truly understand. Just know, We will be watching. Before We make our leave however, a gift to you Li... no, Konnushi-chan. We believe that in time, you would be able to put this to good use. For now... Farewell... Konnushi-chan_

While I am a wee bit irritated that I was given a nickname which roughly meant "little priest", I could not help but keep silent as I watch as the last of the glow from Inari Ōkami's statue fade into almost nothing, until it somehow left the statue in the form of the floating wisps I saw all around, only instead of going in a random direction, it slowly made its descent towards me, like one of the autumn leaves slowly dancing in the air. In a fit of whimsy and probably childish wonder in my part, I cupped my hands in hopes to catch the wisp. As soon as it landed on the palms of my hands, light filled the empty space for just a moment, and from where the wisp was, I held something wooden in my hands.

I took a closer look at it and saw that it is actually a sheathed weapon. A dagger most likely because of its length, cannot really tell what kind though specifically, but if I had to guess judging by the length and what I have read in the Library, I would say it is a kaiken. When I unsheathed it, from the tip of the blade up to the base of the mount, it is roughly twenty centimeters, and there was barely anything ornate about it. Despite that though, it feels like as if I was still in the presence of Inari Ōkami the longer I leave the blade exposed.

" _A most peculiar gift Konnushi-chan."_

"Kurama? How is it that I can hear you? And please don't tell me you'll be calling me that nickname from now on."

For some reason I could hear something like amused grumbling in my head, which for some reason, unsettled me a bit. Kurama was being very respectful when Inari Ōkami was still present. But for some reason, I cannot tell if he wants to be amused, or is irritated at something. But when I heard a light round of laughter, I think Kurama just stuck with being amused.

" _Silly Konnushi-chan, you are forgetting that we are connected, and yes I will be 'calling you that nickname' as you so put it delicately._ _It is fitting though, you are little, and you are, as decided by the kami, a kannushi, so therefore Konnushi-chan. I am just disgruntled that I did not think of it first."_

"Fitting... okay I guess I can deal with that... Ku-chan."

" _Ku-chan?! The heck kid I thought we had a bond!"_

"If I get a cutesy diabetes-inducing nickname, you get one as well, but if you don't like Ku-chan, well I guess we can settle over Fuwafuwa-chan."

" _...I'll take Ku-chan. Goddammit first ōkami-sama thinks of a good nickname, and now you give me a ridiculous one."_

"Now that we have that settled with, anything you want to tell me about the kaiken?"

" _I cannot say for sure Konnushi-chan, but from what I feel from the blade, it has a small portion of divine energy exactly like Inari Ōkami-sama. From what I can recall, back before there were no ninja villages, there was a blade forged by a blacksmith by the name of Munechika with the guidance of Inari Ōkami-sama called Kogitsune-maru. The exact story of the blade varies, but from what I can recall, the blade had been passed down or had changed owners frequently until the sword was used by someone who tried to drive away a thunderstorm, only for it to be struck by lightning, and no longer mentioned further on in history. The sword was lost, with most assuming it was destroyed by the lightning, so with that assumption. I am guessing that the kaiken you now hold has a fragment of Kogitsune-maru in it."_

"Wow. So is there anything special about the blade or anything?"

" _None that I can recall I'm afraid. But if anything, you have been entrusted a fragment of ōkami-sama's power in that blade, so most likely it would serve a purpose. But do not worry Konnushi-chan, we have all the time in the world to figure out not only that, but to have you grow to fulfill your now divine role."_

"You'll be with me every step of the way right Ku-chan?"

" _Always Konnushi-chan."_

* * *

 _ **End of Flashback, Back to Present Time**_

From then on, with the aid of Kurama, I was able to go through all the scrolls and books that we could find in the old structure. There were plenty of topics that all of the books in the temple talked about. One book was on calligraphy, which Kurama told me I should read since it would help immensely in learning fūinjutsu later on. Another book, which I pretty much memorized its full contents the moment I invested my time into reading it, was about how to make your own ramen, soba, and udon; that one I had shared with the Ichiraku family so I could get more hands-on experience in making it while Ichiraku Ramen added some techniques from the book to make improvements to their original recipe. Heck they taught me the recipe after my 'temporary apprenticeship' under their combined tutelage. I still go to the restaurant to secretly help out from time to time, and to of course enjoy the ramen they serve.

There were even books regarding proper etiquette. Those books turned out useful, as it came in handy with interacting with the other kami that deigned to visit me in what I now call home away from the village. Every so often since then, one of the kami would visit and stay with me in real time to teach me and train me. While most of them did say that I did not need to be so formal with them, they, as well as Kurama, approved on the proper etiquette training as there may come a time that I would have interactions that would require it. Especially since I am their representative in the long run.

Inari Ōkami, being the most frequent of the kami to visit as it is currently their shrine that I am residing in, trained and taught me various skills. Under their guidance I learned the ways of a zenko kitsune; I can now create, manipulate, and destroy illusions, along with creating and using foxfire to my advantage. I was even taught how to dreamwalk and was told to train my illusion weaving there as they follow the same principle. With foxfire on the other hand, I can use it not only for attacking, given time according to Kurama, I can even use it to drain chakra from my enemies and use it for either myself or for empowering others, as foxfire is really just an embodiment of pure energy. That said however, I still have not made a breakthrough with the chakra draining and empowering part of it, mostly due to lack of sparring partners and my hesitance to use it on some random drunk person at night.

They even taught me how to craft items, at first it started with some simple ofuda, omikuji, and ema, and once they were satisfied with my level of skill we moved on to increasingly difficult and intricate items such as omamori, tamagushi, netsuke, dolls, even some clothing items. Further on they had taught me how to hone and maintain the blade that they have gifted me with. Kurama's initial assumption was right, my kaiken held a fragment of the lost Kogitsune-maru, Inari Ōkami did say however that it is not broken, merely exhausted, though I never understood what they meant, neither did Kurama, and he was very knowledgeable in a lot of topics.

Inari Ōkami would have taught me more, but according to them, the other kami have things they wanted to teach me as well, so for now I was told to improve on the skills they taught me. They had a point, I am now juggling between three abilities from them as it is, I am actually glad that they stayed with me for a month to help out. Their other month-long visits within the span of seven years were spent not only honing the abilities given to me, but also in teaching me about industry, agriculture, diplomacy, and oddly enough, skills that would make even the most well trained housewife look slovenly in comparison. The only reason that I was able to retain all that was most probably from Inari Ōkami's zenko training, Kurama's influence, and well, my general curiosity really.

My seven years of under the guidance of the kami were not just limited to Inari Ōkami however. If anything I spent a total of twenty one months for each kami that had visited to teach me something. Only three other kami had made themselves known to me during my stay at the temple, but they appeared in the form of giant wisps rather than communicate from a statue like Inari Ōkami. They were Hachiman, the kami of war, Ame-no-Uzume, the kami of the dawn and revelry, and Ōkuninushi, the kami of magic and medicine.

Let's start with Ōkuninushi. As he is the kami of magic and medicine, I was taught in ways to help others through my actions. In terms of medicine, I was taught different forms of diseases and injuries, how they were inflicted, and how to heal them. I also learned medicine preparation, wherein I not only learned what plants and animal products can aid in curing diseases and in healing injuries, but also how to prepare special concoctions that would improve overall health. I was even taught how to handle finicky patients and how to "trick" them into taking their prescription. There were also lessons in anatomy, taxonomy, biology, botany, absolutely anything related with healing a living being really.

Magic lessons however were kind of enlightening. As it turned out, what the people call nowadays as 'elemental ninjutsu' is actually a form of magic that channels the elements. But Ōkuninushi felt that I can benefit more from fūinjutsu more as it was part of my heritage, and truth be told, he was right. With the knowledge of fuinjutsu, I am able to not only channel chakra into them to get the desired effect. I am able to improve in enchanting omamori and ofuda through channeling divine energy into them. Further on with my studies of magic under Ōkuninushi, I was also taught onmyōdō, but only the defensive aspects such as making barriers.

According to Kurama, the principle of creating barriers is similar to that of my mother's Kongō Fūsa technique, and with enough practice, I would be able to replicate it and even channel either divine energy, my own chakra, or even Kurama's chakra through the chains, so with permission and guidance from Ōkuninushi, I also trained on replicating my mother's chains. It was tough work however due to the differences between the two, with creating a wall it is just that, I am focusing on is creating a solid wall with divine energy, with Kongō Fūsa however, it is a more intricate process, I have to visualize every single link of the chains to understand its structure. It was also a form of being able to control and channel both my energy and my chakra.

At the end of my time with Ōkuninushi, I was able to create a single chain that I have full control over, I learned how to project a wall that is strong enough to hold ten times my weight; I tested it by using the projection ability to create a platform connecting two trees by their branches and applying the equivalent weight using some rocks in the vicinity; and with fūinjutsu, I can now create protective wards and amulets, as well as create basic ofuda with different properties like storage and exploding tags. I still have yet to make a breakthrough with replicating my mother's chains, but so far I can feel my control for the energies within me improve with every attempt.

Under Hachiman, as he knew beforehand that I aspired to be a ninja, trained my body, my mind, and my technique. I went through a meticulous training regimen of handling various weapons, wherein I discovered that I am proficient with the kaiken, a shakujō, and with the bow and arrow. I can handle thrown weaponry just as well, but when it comes to fighting at a distance, I would still rather use the bow and arrow as I am more able to focus down on my target, though I did understand that I may not always have the luxury of time, therefore I did not neglect thrown weaponry. Further down the line I was taught kenjutsu, bōjutsu, kyūjutsu, and shurikenjutsu that were more advanced than what would be taught in the Academy.

For my body, I was to endure a regimen that focused on improving strengthening my muscles but not to the point of them becoming bulky, if anything I was to focus on dexterity, flexibility, and blocking. I was taught to remain on the defensive at all times and only push for the offensive when absolutely necessary. For my taijutsu, I was told to focus on putting an enemy off balance to be able to either take advantage of their weakness by putting them under submission, or to knock them down so I am able to make a swift escape, therefore I was taught the methods of jujutsu, judo, and aikido.

For my mind, I was taught and quizzed upon battle tactics, geography, and even meteorology to be able to predict the tides of battle and to use it to my advantage. I was to also reflect upon what I learned every end of the day through meditation, the purpose of which was that I needed my body, my mind, and my spirit to be in sync with one another to not only be calm in the heat of battle, but for all the other teachings that the other kami have for me.

As Hachiman's time with me drew closer to an end, he created multiple apparitions of my likeness and basically had me "spar' against myself, and by 'spar' it is not just a simple match. Every single day I sparred with my duplicates, every single move I knew, they also knew, and they have numbers on their side, it truly was a battlefield simulation and I was able to test out everything that I have learned, though at the earlier sessions the spars always ended in a stalemate. But as each day passed, I knew I had to focus on being unpredictable, so I began to implement actual guerrilla warfare tactics, assassination tactics, and even misdirection. Once I was able to eliminate five of the apparitions, Hachiman doubles the amount of apparitions he creates, until it got to the point that the last spar between myself and one thousand duplicates ended in a victory in my favor. To which Hachiman had bowed out saying that we would be meeting once again when the time comes.

Now with Hachiman, I was taught in the art of war. With Ame-no-Uzume on the other hand, I was taught how to be graceful and peaceful in all aspects. She taught me how to move with grace, both with my movements in battle, and with dancing, especially dancing. To the point that when I fight, it now feels like I am dancing and performing, which to my surprise, I enjoyed being able to incorporate the flowing movements to my fighting style, it made it all the more unpredictable. I was also taught further in the art of conversation, and was told that violence is not always the solution to a favorable outcome. Lastly, she taught me _asobi_ , a ceremony that was used a long time ago to appease the spirits of the dead.

According to Ame-no-Uzume, sometimes those who died in the battle or those who suffered a violent death, need a guiding hand to be laid to rest. If their spirits linger on, their grief of their own death would eventually cause them to become violent with time, as they feel that they have been wronged, up to the point that they are blinded with rage caused by their own grief. If not put to rest their vengeance and need to cause pain may manifest amongst the living.

So I began to practice the dance every day and night under Ame-no-Uzume's gentle guidance. Every step had to be on point to not only carry grace in my movements, but also in effort to put the dead to rest. As I move my body through the steps, I was to also draw from the energy within me and let it flow through every move for me to guide the spirits of the dead properly into the afterlife. Through Ame-no-Uzume's teachings I realized that I not only had a duty to the kami and to the living, but I now also have a duty to fulfill with the souls of the departed.

What I did not notice until later on within our sessions is that since I am constantly flowing energy for every single movement in the dance, I am subconsciously improving my control to greater heights. Especially since that one of the tests that Ame-no-Uzume asked me to do is perform the dance on still water on top of a pond, maintaining as much poise and grace as possible. Ame-no-Uzume even mentioned that once I get enough control, I should try practicing on different surfaces, but I have not made any attempts to try so far.

As soon as my time with Ame-no-Uzume was coming to a close, she taught me one final lesson. Well, more like request as the last lesson is something that can only be learned through experience, not through teachings. I was taught how to blend in within my surroundings for absolutely any situation necessary. The reason of which is that there may come a time that I would need to hide myself, and though Inari Ōkami's lessons in illusions and Hachiman's lessons in tactics are useful for that, being able to apply them in any setting is a whole different matter entirely, as it is not just like putting on an illusion, or making a hasty escape. Blending in is an art form in itself, it is an extremely taxing demonstration of not only illusions and tactics, it is a matter of behavioral psychology, sociology, etiquette, information gathering, spying, to the point of even the most shallow of feminine traits should even be considered in what your cover is and how your cover should be able to affect others.

So in order to fully practice blending in, I had to go to the Academy as it made good practice in blending in, adapting a persona depending on the situation, and a little bit of espionage. That and I needed to go either way otherwise people would find it suspicious that one day I was studying and shouting to the rooftops on becoming Hokage, and suddenly I disappear off the face of the village.

To fully enforce the deception, what the public in Konoha see is an orange wearing loudmouthed idiot who barely has a lick of common sense. I even made sure that if the villagers chase me, I practice misdirection and illusions while applying escape tactics to get away from an angry mob. Once I am in the temple though, I drop all pretense of that persona and embrace what I truly am. A servant of the kami, a child created out of love, and lastly, be myself, the true Uzumaki Naruto.

Of course, I needed help in maintaining this plan, and who better to know this than the three people I know. Grandpa Hokage and the Ichirakus are the only ones in the know of what I am. Only because that they were looking for me the day after the events had transpired. And to be honest, all of us were shocked, including me because of what I learned that day. Them, because they were shocked about the role that I was given, whereas I was shocked that all three of them were genuinely worried about me. At the end of the long discussion though; and maybe the unholy glass shattering screeching of one Ichiraku Ayame to a certain old Hokage about keeping things from me, we were all glad about the built-in soundproofing of the Hokage's Office that night I assure you, otherwise Ayame-neesan would have died of embarrassment then and there once she realized she berated the Hokage like a small child.

With their help and cooperation, I was able to restore the temple to at least be operational. Over time, around two years after the event, I was also able to attract a few tourists to the temple, which I now knew from the Hokage that it was actually one of the Uzumaki Temples located in Konoha, the other being a mask storage located further in the outskirts of Konoha, but Grandpa Hokage was not precise on where it is actually located. I am still in shock that I am not just some no-name orphan, that the Uzumaki really was a clan.

Grandpa Hokage was very apologetic about keeping the truth from me, he just thought it was for the best, but he really did try to make it up to me by helping me with the restoration of the temple and promoting it to be open to the public. Unfortunately, when I did ask him what he knew about my clan, he barely knows a thing about it, only that the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama married an Uzumaki, my great aunt Uzumaki Mito; that my mother belonged to the Uzumaki Clan but understandably was not very forthcoming about the clan; that they can live really long lives while looking younger for their age; and that most of them died out when Uzushigakure, the Village Hidden among the Eddies, fell into ruin. Kind of a downer really, I was hoping to have at least a distant cousin somewhere.

Kurama did reassure me however that there is a probability that some have survived. He did mention that he would be giving me lessons in sensing others, but in a different way. He said that there were sensor ninja who were able to detect the presence of others through getting a feel for chakra. Some were good to the point that they were able to tell what jutsu they were going to use just by reading certain tells from their chakra signature. Kurama will be going beyond that level.

According to Kurama, all bijū have a special ability that only they and their jinchūriki are able to utilize. In Kurama's case, his special ability is the ability to sense negative emotions, but he has a feeling that with my divine energy, I might even be able to have a broader range of sensing that even he does. After some experimentation and subtle practice with the new influx of pilgrims, Kurama and I were able to determine that I am able to detect all sorts of emotions rather than just negative ones. A part of me feels that my sensing abilities are capable of more than that, but I have yet to think of what else I should try to sense. Kurama and I agreed however that we are revisiting the issue when needed.

Although people now go to the temple now and then, the people do not seem to realize that the kid they were chasing is the same one who is running the Uzumaki Temple. Then again I have changed a lot since then, both in terms of outfits and in appearance. My hair has grown thick, soft, and layered over time, it sometimes reminded me of a chrysanthemums that are now planted and in full bloom at the middle of the temple courtyard. Ayame even commented one time that I smelled like chrysanthemums sometimes as well.

Due to my full acceptance of Kurama's chakra and my intensive training with my own chakra and divine energy, my whisker marks have faded over time, but they are still there, just barely noticeable unless one looks at me closely. However, when I tried to experiment with Kurama's chakra in an effort to see if my divine energy can merge with his demonic chakra, I do gain some slightly more feral features, shaggier hair, narrowed pupils, and most notably, my whisker marks become thicker than they originally were. It is like a merging of both mine and Kurama's features.

My outfits these days are completely different to the shirt and shorts that I wore from that night. I now have a wardrobe full of different clothes, a set of traditional clothing for kannushi, which consists of a robe called a jōe, a hat called an ebōshi, and a pair of lower garments that are called sashinuki, all of which I would only wear during important ceremonies, which I am glad because those robes can get stifling; the outfit that I am currently wearing, my persona's outfit, a jumpsuit of the most horrendous shade of orange there is with blue sandals and a kunai holster strapped to my leg; and lastly a special outfit that I am saving for when I become genin.

There was one thing that did not exactly change though, my height. I mean I did grow taller over the years, but right now I am at one hundred twenty seven centimeters. Below the average height, especially since according to... well, everyone and even the old Bingo Books, both my parents were considerably tall, with my father only having a minuscule height advantage over my mother. I would have inherited their height but of course there were extenuating circumstances that lead to my petite height, malnutrition from when I was younger for one, but I, and the Ichirakus as well as Jiji, noticed that I was not really getting any taller that much even with the new changes to my diet.

Kurama did shed some light in the matter once he was able to internally assess the problem, because who better to check what is wrong with my insides than someone who lives inside me, apparently the cause was my inheritance, but not in the way I thought it would. The Uzumaki Clan Longevity to be precise. With the fusion of Kurama's chakra, my longevity would be through the roof, but with the presence of my divine energy however, the longevity became anomalous to the point that it stunted some hormones, namely the one factoring to height. In short, because of my own body I am short. No pun intended. I should probably get used to the short jokes soon, heck I am expecting a lot of "little girl" jokes as well as soon as I become genin.

" _Konnushi-chan, if you are done with your monologue-slash-recollection, we need to head to the Academy soon otherwise you are going to be late. Again."_

"SHIMATTA!"

" _Konnushi-chan, language!"_

* * *

 _ **\- End chapter 1**_

 _ **\- Minor Edits made 2/24/2017**_

 _ **\- More Edits made 2/25/2017**_


	2. Deception

Notes for this Chapter: There would be varying points of view in this chapter. I tried to make it a little bit less confusing as much as possible.

 _-This is Naruto talking in his head-_

* * *

 _ **Unknown specific time in the morning, Uzumaki Temple Courtyard, Konohagakure no Sato**_

Disadvantages of living in a secluded temple. A big fat challenge to get to places you need to be as soon as possible, especially if it is one hundred kilometers away from your point of origin. Like me not being late to the Academy. Again, as Ku-chan oh so delicately put it. Advantages of having a butt-load of knowledge in regards to knowing the fastest way to get from point A to point B using a chakra chain you have control over and the ability to project walls and platforms...

By creating a chain as long and sturdy as I could make extending from where my tailbone should be, I made a running start while focusing enough chakra into my legs to prepare myself for what I have planned and with the additional boost I got from a series of escalating platforms, I leaped into the treetops, using the momentum of my jump while manipulating my chain as a grapple to the nearest branch possible. I swung around the tree branch to launch me into the air, which with the boost I got, the proper timing that I made with the swing, I have already covered two-thirds of the distance I needed.

I made my landing on top of the roof of one of the buildings right across the Academy, I can see through the windows that there was no one in the classrooms, and as I took a peek at the ground, I saw that not very few people have arrived to the front door yet, which is quite puzzling as normally there should be at least a small crowd of students already if classes were about to start. I look at the sky to check the sun's position so I could tell the time, and based on the angle that I see, it should be around 7:30 in the morning, thirty minutes before the first bell... I think it's time for me to have a mental one on one with my lovely tenant.

"Kurama."

" _Y-yes Konnushi-chan?"_

"Didn't you say that I was going to be late?"

" _Why yes, yes I did. I take it that you realized that I lied to make sure you arrive on time."_

"Why yes, yes I did. And to thank you for thy generosity, especially since I could have had a decent breakfast, I believe I should do a little redecorating in the mind-scape don't you think?"

I heard a keening whine come from my dear tenant, most likely because he realized that he pissed off the wrong person. Who does that anyway, telling someone they are late when they had plenty of time. I could have had breakfast ramen, dattebayo!

" _Can I at least pick the color?"_

"No."

With that, not caring at all for how satisfying the long whine of frustration that Ku-chan gave out, I might as well take advantage of the 'blessing of time' bestowed upon me by Ku-chan. I climbed down from the rooftops, taking care to make sure that I am unseen, and once I am sure that no one is there by sensing all around my surroundings, I put on my 'ultimate kawaii moron' persona into play. On the bright side, at least I am sure that I can tolerate the Academy and this would be useful for training.

* * *

 _ **Academy Proper**_

I take in what I observe carefully while going through the motions of my mask. I can see a couple of my civilian-born classmates chatting with each other as they make their way to the entrance, not a single one of them are noteworthy, though I do recognize a few who visit from the temple. I still find it odd that they do not seem to notice that this persona of mine and myself in my formal kannushi garb are one and the same person. And these are the future generation of ninja that Konoha has. A pity, but then again it is not like they were trained early on to blend in and observe, I do hope that they pick up the pace soon for their sake. Observation is key to survival in this line of work after all.

As I make it to the hallway, I hear grunting noises and panting coming from outside. I took a closer look through the window, though it is a bit of a challenge as I had to stand on the tips of my toes, stupid height disadvantage, and see that it is Uchiha Sasuke, one of my classmates, a survivor of his Clan's Massacre, the rival of the persona I am wearing, and the assumed Rookie of the Year for our batch.

Right now I see that he is practicing his taijutsu. His hair is spiked up at the back with his bangs framing his face, though beads of sweat have clung on to a few strands from all the exertion he is giving off. Currently he is only wearing a black sleeveless undershirt, a pair of white shorts, and blue sandals, but I notice that his usual blue high collar shirt is propped on a bench, right next to a rucksack, a towel, and a bottle of water.

He also draws a lot of attention from a lot of my female classmates, who I can blatantly see trying to 'blend in' with their surroundings, though I never did see him interact with any of them, well, I never see him intentionally interact with anyone really. If anything he ignores everyone, and when he does need to acknowledge someone, it is either a grunt or a quick answer, it is never a full interactive conversation. I do not blame him though, with what he went through five years back, just about anyone would close off themselves from human interaction as a coping mechanism, heck some people would just try to shut off their emotions altogether.

My sensing does tell me he does feel emotions though, negative ones albeit, but still he does feel emotions, that means he is as human as everyone else. My interactions with him using the persona involve trying to get a rise out of him, and though I cannot see it, I sense that I do get through to him a bit. Sasuke will open up one day, but it is going to take some time. I just sometimes wonder what goes on in that head of his.

* * *

 _ **Academy Quad. The musings of Uchiha Sasuke**_

Why, of all times, did these stupid girls decide to spy on me this early in the morning? Hell, I chose this early because only the sensei and a few others are this early. Did these yōkai in little girl's clothing collaborate overnight just to stalk me or something? Do they not understand that I do not have the time for their inane pining until I have avenged my clan? I don't even think they even take the shinobi life seriously. What, do they expect me to come to their rescue in the future? Fat chance, even if I were inclined to do so, there is only one person that I would probably, with the right amount of extreme coercion, blackmail, threatening, and some hypnotism, entertain the thought of even trying to rescuing and that person is...

Is taking a peek over the window looking at the quad. Uzumaki Naruto. The shortest student in the Academy, not just in the class, the entire Academy. The one kid who, no matter what, tries to rile me up at every possible moment. We just simply butt heads all the time, as he calls himself my rival, despite the fact that he is only doing the bare minimum to pass, hell the laziest person in class has better grades than him, and he sleeps in class. The only one, despite what I feel, can make me feel... something. The only one who tries to understand me. Ever since... no I should not think about that person, not right now.

There is just something about that chrysanthemum blond hair, held back a bit by those goggles of his, his bright disposition, his slim, dainty figure, the way he tries to stand up tall despite his height disadvantage, that round face with the cheeks that you just want to pinch until it is a blushing red, and those eyes, those mesmerizing blue eyes that I just want to look at forever... what the hell am I thinking. See, this is what I am talking about. Something about Uzumaki Naruto just makes me want to... ugh. I can't even say it properly. Do growing men even think about these things?

I would try to get close to him even more. Heck I have a feeling I am not the only person who wants to get close to him, but unfortunately I have the misfortune of earning the ire of his unofficial bodyguards among our class because of my standoffish nature. And even if I had their favor, I would still have to deal with... that person. That demon in the shell of a waif, who keeps a close eye on that squishy ball of sunshine. I do not care what other people say, that person is probably the only other person other than _him_ who could bring utter fear down to every fiber of my being.

Come on Sasuke, just focus on your taijutsu, even though that mysterious blond creature is... not peeking out of the window anymore. Where the fucking hell did he go now? Fuck and I was about to do something impressive.

* * *

 _ **Academy Corridor**_

Best to not dally in front of a window though, while I am currently in my role right now, it is way too early in the morning to rile up someone. I lower myself down, and continue walking on towards the classroom. When I hear the swooning of the girls grow louder, I can't help but feel sorry for Sasuke at that moment. Then again he of all people should have known better than to work out at the one place where most of his fan club congregate, especially since they think that whatever he does is 'absolutely amazing'. Sorry not 'most of' I meant to say the entirety of his fan club, judging from the sudden increase of high pitched swooning followed by the sudden spike of aggressive emotions coming from the quad.

"Naruto-chan"

"Oh, Hinata-san"

Normally, if I hear someone not close to me call me that, I would have to lash out, given the role I am playing. But knowing whose voice that was, I cannot help but smile a bit and turn to see one of my only friends in class. And probably one of the only people who could get away with giving me the '-chan' suffix without them losing something extremely important. Hyūga Hinata, the heiress of the Hyūga Clan, known for their Byakugan bloodline, the most timid girl in our class, and one of the shorter girls in class. Despite that last bit of information though she still dominates me in the height department by more than twenty centimeters. In a few years she is going to be quite a beauty however, with her pale skin, her unique lavender eyes, her hair that hopefully she would grow out, long hair would suit a princess the most after all.

"Want to walk together Naruto-chan?"

"Sure, beats being alone anyway! Lead the way my lady."

She giggled at the feigned pompous servant act, took me by my wrist and lead me to our classroom. I like Hinata, she's the best. She and her family are actually frequent visitors to the temple every time someone in the clan has a high ranking mission or if they wanted a blessing done for a business engagement that they were about to partake. That said, even with that Byakugan of hers, even she cannot tell that I am also the one from the temple. If I were to choose people in my class though to trust with my actual identity, Hinata would be one of those people.

I always feel safe and protected around her. Especially since I always sense great happiness from her every time I encounter her, yet sometimes I feel a minuscule myriad of fiery hot emotions from her. Then again, she is an heiress, so most probably what I sense was just stress from her duties. It is sort of warm when I try to reach in further to trace out the negativity though, but I am afraid sometimes that if I go further in, I feel like I would burn myself, so I do not try to delve in further. Hinata would probably tell me one of these days. Right now though, I am just happy spending some time with her, even if it just walking down the hallway to our classroom.

* * *

 _ **Classroom, the musings of a lazy deer**_

Mendokuse. Why in the hell did I go to the class early? Granted the view of the sky is nice from the windows, but there are barely even any clouds out. Oh now I remember, okaasan was nagging me again to 'exert more effort, don't be like your deadbeat of a father', blah blah blah. Troublesome woman. Scary woman, but troublesome all the same.

I would have stayed in bet a bit longer, but it would just be too troublesome to deal with the repercussions. Ugh, I do not even want to think of the last time I was given 'extra lessons in deer wrangling' with the claims that 'it is good training for your Kagemane Shika-chan.' Why in the world was I born from such a driven maternal figure is beyond me, I would have been happy just leisurely watching the clouds pass by. In foresight though, I would rather deal with being early than to get an earful later on for not doing my 'not-so-secret' duty as well.

I heard the sliding of the door and I see with the corner of my eye the said 'not-so-secret' duty, also known as Uzumaki Naruto, enter the room with the Hyūga girl. Mendokuse, that means I'm on the clock now. Damn, and just when I see some interesting clouds roll on by.

"Hi Shikamaru"

"Ohayogozaimasu Shikamaru-san"

The two of them approach my side of the classroom and take the seats adjacent to me, huh, I guess I am sitting near Naruto today. I don't really mind though, gives me a better opportunity to figure him out. He acts so stupid, yet every time I see him make a childish answer I see humor and intelligence shining in his eyes. His innocent prankster act would have been just that, if it weren't for the fact there were just some gestures here looked rehearsed.

If anything I could see that his movements, no matter how clumsy and boorish he is, has a certain amount of grace to it, almost as if he had trained himself to play a role... damn it with the amount of observing I am doing it is staring to sound a bit inappropriate. Add to the fact that even though I know that we are roughly the same age, with the fact that I am almost a foot taller than him, and how sickeningly cute he can be sometimes... damn it Shikamaru it is way too early to even think about where that train of thought was going.

Uzumaki Naruto has been playing us for years looks like it, but I am not one to give away the game so early on. If anything I would like to keep it to myself until all the pieces fall in together, or he tells me himself. I really want to know what is behind this persona that Naruto is showing everybody in the class and what sort of enigma lies behind his mind.

Especially since he seems so familiar but I just cannot seem to put a finger on why. I also would like to know why I always have this urge to protect him from the sidelines, as if he should be placed above a pedestal. Again cue the inappropriate thinking... damn it I must have left my mind in a gutter somewhere this early in the morning. I should have just stayed in bed.

Bah, it is too troublesome to even think about it even now. Especially since the class is starting to fill up and all the noise later on is just going to add on to the developing headache that I am getting from even figuring Naruto out so early in the morning. Damn it Naruto, why the hell are you such a tempting puzzle to solve. Add to the fact that ever since I met you, my life has now gotten a bit more complicated.

* * *

 _ **Classroom Entrance, the musings of a discreet bug**_

I should have not tried to capture that interesting bug specimen that I saw on the way here. Why? Because now I ended up being late in anticipating my charge and I know I am never going to hear the end of it. The looks of things though and according to my kikaichū, my charge is already in the classroom with two others adjacent to them, most likely the others who are also involved in our duty. Why? Because, including myself, a few have decided to observe my charge carefully. Though one of us has their interest in a more... familial level of interaction with my charge.

That is not to say that I am merely doing things out of a sense of duty alone. No, I believe that unlike the other members of my clan, my intentions are just as selfish, as I have given into the whimsy that is my emotions in regards to the matter of my charge.

"Shino! I didn't know you came to school this early, want to sit with us?"

Ah there it is, the voice of my charge, Uzumaki Naruto. He is probably one of the few people in this village who is not a member of the Aburame Clan to not be afraid of being near us. Why? Due to our clans techniques and contract with the insects, while we are respected as members of the ninja community, most have a certain level of disgust in regards to us, mostly due to the kikaichū living inside our bodies. However, Naruto is different, if anything he found it 'awesome' that I can control bugs.

It felt nice, to know someone who does not shudder outright in regards to my clan. If anything, it is nice to have someone close to me. Just like before... he was taken away from our family.

"Shino?"

"Yes Naruto-san?"

"What did I tell you about calling me that honorific? We've known each other for years, I think we can spare each other the honorifics don't you think? Anyway that wasn't what I was going to ask. I was wondering if you have any idea what we're doing today in class."

"It would most likely be a comprehensive review on what we have learned. Why? Because judging from the date, we only have two weeks to prepare for the genin examinations, and knowing Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei, they would want to drill us until they are sure we would be prepared for the genin examinations."

"What?! Only two weeks left! I didn't even realize the time..."

And there goes my charge now, constantly talking about how he did not realize the time line of events leading up to the exams. I wonder if my charge knows that he may be giving some of our classmates early onset diabetes. Why? Because right now Uzumaki, even with his boisterous nature and excessive volume, is being the epitome of, dare I say it... cute. Excessively cute.

So much so that I had a miniature heart attack the first time I was exposed to my charge at his cutest. I even have the medical records and prescription slip to even testify my claim. And judging by some of our classmates just arriving, they began to clutch their chests above where the heart is supposed to be. Odd, they should be used to Naruto by now, one does not remain exposed to this... _this_ , I do not even have a word for it, for almost a decade and not even have the nascence of an immunity to develop.

"Mendokuse. Naruto can you please sit down? It's too early to be this loud."

"But what if I don't want to?"

"You will sit down before I get a headache."

"Fine."

And there is my cohort in this arduous task coming to the rescue. Nara Shikamaru may be lazy, but he is effective at silencing our charge. Why? Because he actually possesses enough knowledge and cranial processing power to think of various solutions to any sort of problem, but with his lazy nature, he would often choose the most convenient one. Though in this case it had the slightly expected consequence of Naruto slumping down to his chair and pouting with his arms crossed. I believe I heard a brief choking sound, which was covered by a cough, but I am not sure who it was, either way I am glad that the ranting had stopped.

Albeit the solution may have been simple, but it takes the right tone to get the attention of the blond. Especially considering that his ranting is very distracting, even to himself. I seriously believe that he has either Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, if it were not for the fact that I know that Naruto does not exhibit it in actuality.

True, to the unobservant eye, he would be the very textbook definition of it. The problem lies in that with a regular ADHD case, they would not be doing their actions on purpose, if anything it is just because of a short attention span and hyperactivity. With Naruto, he does it intentionally. Even the rants that he went on earlier is completely intentional if one were to observe carefully. Then again I could be wrong, regretfully I do not have the training to fully analyze the psychiatric behavior of my charge as the Aburame clan does not have that many references in regards to psychological conditions.

The Yamanaka clan on the other hand does, but unfortunately, the one who is approachable closest to our age group is the heiress. Her skills are decent true, as she is fifth in the overall ranking at the moment, but in terms of personality... I would rather collect honey from hornets at their most aggressive. Without smoke protection or any of my clans bug related jutsu.

"Hello? Earth to Shino? Are you alright?"

I must have been thinking too deeply, because I am now face to face with my charge, with Naruto's face so close to mine. Has his eyes always been that blue? Actually, I want to know if he is wearing perfume because he smells faintly of chrysanthemums right now. It is not that overpowering, if anything it is such a gentle scent...

I felt something press against my forehead, and I can see Naruto pressing his forehead against mine, while I can feel the back of his hand across my throat, I think he is trying to check my temperature. My charge has breached my personal barriers and reached out for a physical touch. It seems so innocent, but why do I feel dirty all of a sudden? No, no, Aburame Shino, calm down, it is just an innocent gesture to check my temperature, which I am sure is quite alright, no need to go on a tangent about it.

"Shino you're quite warm, and you're a little flushed too, do we need to go to the clinic?"

"No, no, I'm fine, just a cold that's all."

I made a show of sniffling to feign the symptoms of having a cold and to cement my alibi further. It cannot be known that my mind went off to another train of thought while thinking about my charge. Again. I do not want to have another... scolding session, especially from that person. We Aburame may be known to not express any outward emotion that often, but there are only two exceptions to me personally, Naruto my charge, and that person. The leader of Naruto's mother hens.

I felt an arm wrap around mine, I looked down and see Naruto hugging it for dear life. He is looking up at me, his eyes filled with a bit of worry. I wonder why he felt the need to grasp my arm though. Did I look like I was about to fall? He then turned to the person next to him after a while of checking my expression though.

"Hinata-chan, I think I'll sit with Shino for today, he might get even more sick today so I should probably sit next to him in case he needs the nurse later."

"That's alright Naruto-chan, just behave for Shino-san alright."

"Okay."

* * *

 _ **Back to the mind of the fox-priest, after two hours of lectures**_

As I sat next to Shino, who seemed to be back to normal now... well normal for him at least, the lessons were quite boring. Mostly because a) we are currently going through a review period just as Shino had said, b) I pretty much know what is coming out of the sensei's mouth, and lastly c) the bored look was needed for this persona, so might as well go with it. Seriously though, every single teacher I have had for the duration of my tenure here in the Academy were all droning on with the same monotonous voice, it is like they were trained to use that in discussing all lectures before they were even allowed to teach, and do not even get me started on the ones who just outright hate me on the get-go, the discussion would be too drawn out, not so interesting, and just ends up with either the offending teacher covered by the results of a paraphernalia of traps and pranks, or me doing punishment duty, while class is still ongoing.

To be honest, only one teacher holds my interest among all the teachers I have had. Umino Iruka, also known as Iruka-sensei, he is a chūnin who chose to be an instructor here in the Academy, and though he does also make use of the monotone voice, same lessons plan actually if I compare notes with the other teachers when I "browse" through their records. At night. That are under lock and key and with chakra-rigged traps to prevent tampering from outside influences. That are easily overpowered mind you by an overloaded genjutsu interference gesture. That is not the point really, what I do want to point out though is that Iruka-sensei is very different from the other sensei in the Academy because of one thing only really.

He is the only one who actually treats me fairly. Not a single one of the adults, aside from Jiji and the Ichirakus, treated me fairly, heck I am not even deigned a grain of their respect. But this guy, not even a patch of skin on his forehead even wrinkled at the sight of me, whereas every other sensei had even the tiniest of creases on their faces crinkling as soon as I enter a room. Even after I dragged him through prank after prank, the best one was when I led him through a wild goose chase through the sewers.

Anyway, the other sensei would complain and petition for my removal, because I am a 'menace to society, the other children, and life as we know it' and 'a hellion bent on absolute destruction through his disruptive prankster tendencies'. Jiji completely rebuffed those petitions however, stating that if they cannot capture a one hundred twenty centimeter waif of a boy (I still have yet to get him back for that statement by the way, I have a few more centimeters than that damn it) then they are to undergo rigorous training with... huh, I forgot who Jiji assigned the lot of them to come to think of it. Meh, I'm sure I'll remember it at some point.

Iruka-sensei on the other hand, would be patiently waiting after getting a good laugh out, talk to me over ramen, which he had offered to pay for despite my continued refusal of him not needing to pay for anything. We talked about my behavior so to speak, how it can be inappropriate for me to act like that, and that I need to try to focus more on what is happening in the classroom. That, and that I really need to cut back on the pranks.

"Naruto."

I looked up from my musings and see Iruka-sensei is looking directly at me. Actually, I think the entire class is looking at me at this point. I guess I must have been too absorbed in my thoughts to...

"... are you even paying attention Naruto?"

"Gomenasai."

"Honestly, Naruto, we've been over this. Now that I have your attention though, can you tell me the what is the period before the shinobi villages were formed?"

Should I try to go the dummy route today, or should I show some interest today? Hmm, given that is is only quite some time left before the exams, that I want to impress Iruka-sensei a bit seeing that I may not be able to see him that often anymore once I pass... alright, second option it is. But who said that I can't have a little bit of fun with it... since the teachers like monotone so much, time to give them a little bit of that, with a slight touch of cynicism, and snark, definitely some snark.

"Well Iruka-sensei, the period that you are inquiring about would be the Sengoku Jidai. The Sengoku Jidai was a period where the small developing countries at the time were in constant battle with each other, with shinobi clans acting as mercenaries, whether to act as spies, saboteurs, or assassins. However, only the highest bidder is able to avail of these shinobi clans. Two clans however are of note during this period, the Senju clan from where our Shodai Hokage and Nidaime Hokage had descended from, and the Uchiha clan. They are known as the first of many to resolve their disputes and unite into making shinobi villages. Not all of them included many civilians such as ours."

You can literally hear all the insects outside the Academy with the amount of silence that is in the classroom right now. Heck even some of my friends are obviously baffled by what I said. Wow. I get that I do not exactly show that I make an effort, but it is not like it is that bad right.

"Kai!"

"Oh for the love of..."

Apparently it is. Everyone is doing a release gesture. Repeatedly. By everyone I mean, everyone. Even my friends are doing it. Thanks guys, I really appreciate the amount of faith you have in me. Really. It is not like I do not pay attention in class or anything. Because I do not. What the hell are they thinking, that this is some sort of genjutsu?!

"Seriously, the one time I actually actively participate in class?!"

That snapped them out of it, all of them are quite embarrassed actually. Serves them right.

"Oh shut up Naruto! You're just only showing off to make yourself look good!"

Ouch, I must have busted an eardrum from that screech. Said screech coming from... damn it I do not know her name, just some girl with a bad dye job. I do know her by the call sign Yellow Fan-girl. Only because she is also one of the fangirls who bought a good relationship luck omamori, a yellow colored one to be specific, in the temple a few months back. Heck she only bought a yellow one to 'match my hair so I can look good for Sasuke-kun'. Her words not mine. Yep, I said it, these fan girls are obsessed enough to even seek divine intervention from the kami for blessings to their love life... instead of focusing on being shinobi. If anything though Yellow Fan-girl is not even the worst of the bunch. Nope that honor belongs to...

"Yeah, I bet that you even got the answer wrong and was making everything up! And even if you are right, you should just give up because you don't look impressive at all! You just look like a show off! I bet Sasuke would have a better answer than that!"

This girl. Pink Fan-girl. Bought the exact same omamori from the temple, only a pink one with a flower motif so that 'my Sasuke-kun would always think of me, the prettiest flower among the bunch of thorns that want him'. Again, her words, not mine. At least Yellow had some idea on how omamori work. Judging from her words when she bought it, Pink probably thought that the omamori she bought is supposed to be given to her intended love-interest. That is not how it works.

And this is coming from the one who ranks the highest in terms of intelligence in the class. For someone who is supposedly smart, one would have thought that even she would have made the comparison that I am also the same person who sold her an omamori. Granted, if she did make that realization sooner, she would have rather made a bunch of far off accusations that would have just given me a headache in the long run.

Sad thing is that the only thing that is stopping me from retaliating against these fan-girls is that they have not really done anything bad, they are just following what they have always known. They were kids when they got the notion that I am bad news from their parents, and it just stuck really. Same can be applied to every other one of my classmates aside from Shino, Hinata, and Shikamaru. Those guys, they took a chance to get to know me. The others in the class... they are going to take a little bit more effort to get through but hey three friends is a big improvement from no friends at all.

" _Oh, how quaint, I guess I do not belong among the list of friends then huh Konnushi-chan."_

 _-Of course you don't Ku-chan, you are more like family than a friend. Besides weren't you the one who said I needed to 'interact with my own species'.-_

" _Yes, and I honestly am regretting that decision ever since you met those three friends of yours. They take the label 'mother-hen' to a whole new level of crazy."_

 _-Oh just go back to sleep Ku-chan-_

" _I would if I could, but that yellow sow and that pink monstrosity have begun a shouting match. Again. You and I both know how ridiculously noisy they could get."_

 _-Just take comfort in the possibility that they would be less abrasive with age?-_

" _Oh sure, I am so looking forward to that. In case you did not get any of that Naruto-chan, that was sarcasm."_

 _-Gee, and I thought that you were starting to warm up to the wailing-_

"Naruto!"

"Ahhh!"

I fell out of my seat with a shriek, when I look around I notice that it is only Shino, Hinata, Shikamaru, and... uh... dang it I forgot the name of Shikamaru's friend, Chō-something. Must not let it be known that I forgot someone's name otherwise it is going to be too embarassing. Other than that though...

"Where is everyone?"

No one else is in the classroom, not even the sensei. The only time this usually happens is when I am way too early for class, the class had moved outside to the quad for taijutsu sparring, or it is break time. Given that I was here pretty early the first reason would be moot. The third reason is plausible, if it were not for the fact that it is way too early in the day for a break. I would not mind one though... I forgot to eat breakfast because Ku-chan was being facetious, speaking of which... there everything in the mind scape should be...

" _AHHHH! THE LACE! THE FRILLS! THIS HORRENDOUS COLOR!"_

Absolutely. Perfect.

"Naruto stop spacing out!"

Note to self: Devote more time training the ability to multitask so you could AVOID SITUATIONS WHERE YOU ARE BEING YELLED AT FOR SPACING OUT!

"Medokuse, Naruto we need to go to the quad for taijutsu practice... ten minutes ago! While I do not mind leaving you here, hell I don't want to go down for practice at all, I am not going to hear the end of it, so you better stand up and move or we're leaving you, Hinata and Shino already went ahead of us. Come on Chōji, we need to go now as well."

Chōji! So that is his name, at least I got the 'Chō-' part... right... what the heck did Shikamaru just say... oh. They left me behind.

"KUSO! OI SHIKAMARU KONO YAROU! OMACHIKODASAI!"

* * *

 _ **Fifteen minutes, and several curse words later, Academy Quad**_

It took me a while but I was able to catch up with them and everyone else from the class. Damn physical limitations and need to maintain this stupid persona. I see Shikamaru next to Chōji underneath one of the trees in the quad, while I also see Hinata and Shino doing some stretches and warm up routines.

Looking around I also see Pink Fan-girl and Yellow Fan-girl, plus the others in their cult... sorry I mean fan club, fawning over Sasuke as he does some warm up routines, stretching, and was that an aerial cartwheel? Okay even I'm impressed. I dart my eyes all around to observe everything around me as I slowly make my way to where Shikamaru and Chōji.

Upon closer inspection, I see Chōji munching on some potato chips... huh, I thought we weren't allowed to eat during class hours, then again, based on what I sense from Chōji's chakra, it looks like his chakra is being stored in adipose tissue, so I guess he has permission to eat during class to develop it. Lucky bastard, I really should have eaten something before coming here. Shikamaru on the other hand, is just leaning against the tree, probably trying to get a good angle for looking at the clouds he likes so much.

"Shikamaru, you bastard, why did you leave me behind?"

"Urusei! You were taking too long daydreaming as it is. Whatever you were thinking about better be worth it."

"What do you mean?"

"Honestly your head is more in the clouds than mine at this point. We're doing one-on-one sparring today, but with a troublesome twist. For once though I have to exert a bit of effort. I do not want to be one of the losers today"

"Jōdandesho?!"

Is the world ending? I think it is ending, for all my years knowing Shikamaru, he has never been the active type. He only does enough to get by and then just goes off into either dreamland or go could watching. Unknowingly, my hands reflexively came together in prayer, though others may think of it me about to make a hand seal, especially considering we are in a ninja village. I can feel my lips about to invoke a prayer when I was gently interrupted.

"I'm afraid Shikamaru isn't kidding Naruto. Mizuki-sensei said so earlier before we headed down here."

Of course Chōji had to give his input, because why not. I find it impressive that he managed to say all of that clearly while eating those chips of his. Which are getting more appetizing as seconds go by... No, Naruto you can endure this, you can always make a quick jump to the temple or to Ichiraku Ramen later during the lunch break. I could just throw the sparring matches and make the outcome go faster. It is not the end of the world.

"Mizuki-sensei also said that there was a penalty for today's losers."

No... Chōji whatever comes out of your mouth next better not be bad news... I am way too hungry to deal with this shit. Oh who am I kidding, knowing my luck today, things were about to get worse.

"He said that the losers of each round has to spend the first half of the lunch period doing rounds around the quad..."

Okay, thirty minutes cut down for the losers, no problem. It was actually better than what I had expected, thirty minutes is still enough time to make a trip to...

"... and the latter half of the lunch period cleaning out the water closets."

Mother-

" _Don't you even dare finish that thought Konnushi-chan or I'll be rendering your limbs completely numb during the sparring matches."_

 _-Fine, but just so you know, this state of hunger is your fault, and I am going to luxuriate with fifty bowls of ramen later to compensate.-_

" _That's fair."_

 _-Without you being able to taste any through my senses.-_

" _Damn it."_

 _-You can have access to a quarter if you help me prank Mizuki-yarou for this stupidity.-_

" _Half."_

 _-Granted. Done deal?-_

" _Done deal."_

* * *

 _ **Thirty minutes later**_

Of course they had to use a random draw lot system. I really appreciate the thought on adding extra minutes waiting for the sparring match due to drawing of names. I, oh so, appreciate and love the sensation of digestive acid cloying and clawing against the inner linings of my stomach. Heck I even appreciate the fact that they let the girls go first so that I can train my endurance against hunger.

Not.

Sad thing is that even if I talk to Iruka-sensei about it, the taijutsu spars and lessons is not within his jurisdiction for the curriculum. No that honor goes to Mizuki-yarou, er I mean, my other sensei, Mizuki-sensei. I sort of forgot what his last name was. Anyway that is not important really, since considering the lovely honorific I granted him with, let us just say that he does not even come close to even being one of the worst sensei I have ever had. He is 'the' worst of them. If it were not for the fact I had actual divine intervention guiding me for the past few years, I would have been completely oblivious to the 'special taijutsu instruction' that he had given me. He is literally setting me up for failure, or most probably in his mind that if I pass, I would die from his guidance.

And do not even get me started on that awful presence that I feel coming from him. If it were not for the fact that my sensing abilities are a special case, I would have started questioning the competency of the village sensor-ninja, because I literally can see black miasma coming off his body. I know that it is most likely the intensity of his emotions that I feel, but no one has black miasma coming from themselves and just be plain negative emotions. If that were the case I should have seen some coming from Sasuke, or any of the other devotees to the temple when they are feeling melancholy or sorrow. No, it is most likely caused by another source. I just cannot seem to get a grip on it. Kurama does not have a clue either as to what it is, but he does say that the feeling it gives off is a bit familiar. Not the good kind.

Moving on though, despite the fact that I am pretty much just waiting for my own stomach to turn against me, the hunger pangs were abated a bit from Chōji offering some of his chips. By some I mean like five, considering how protective he is over his food that is saying a lot already. The chips were of course not enough to sate my hunger, but they were enough to help me focus on the matches a bit. Most of them were quite short though, with only very few noteworthy.

Pink Fan-girl and Yellow Fan-girl got matched up and it just ended up being a total cat fight. Are they even taking each other seriously? No of course not, they are still somewhere between the 'everything is fun and games phase' and the 'my handsome ninja-prince will come and save me one day'. Ugh, I think I made myself gag a bit on that last one.

Hinata-chan's match was a bit different. To put it into perspective, consider that even though we are an even numbered class size, we have an uneven amount of both girls and boys. Therefore there are times that either Mizuki-sensei changes it up by having the winner of the last match fight again with a new opponent, or go for a battle royal among three students. That is how Hinata's match had ended up, she was listed under a battle royal match between Nameless Fan-girl and Bad Haircut Fan-girl. You can just tell based on my only recollection on the other girl's names is 'fan-girl' just goes to show how much I consider them such remarkable members of the shinobi community... yeah Hinata wiped the floor with them, and that is considering how timid and hesitant she is when she deals blows to her opponents.

Shikamaru, the lazy cow that he is, just did the bare minimum enough to not end up having punishment duty. By bare minimum I mean he just sat down on the ground taking everything in with absolute disinterest, in a way causing his opponent to throw observation and caution to the wind. His opponent was simply insulted that Shikamaru was just sitting there, therefore he charged towards him as fast as he could to end the fight before it started. Shikamaru was probably anticipating this, as he had rolled out of the way at the very last minute, causing his opponent to stumble and crash full force against one of the trees in the quad, knocking him out. Since Shikamaru did not do anything that is not against the rules set upon the spar, he was given a pass. Mizuki-sensei, however, said he is not getting full marks because of the lack of effort on his part.

Then came Shino's turn, which did not require a bit of effort at all. He and his opponent had traded blows, blocking one after the other. The deciding moment of victory for Shino however, was when he had touched his opponents shoulder. Normally any opponent would have just knocked the hand away, however Shino was lucky to have the one male student who had entomophobia. Therefore instead of the normal reaction, Shino's opponent had overreacted by jumping frantically out of Shino's reach and began flailing around. His opponent's flailing ended up knocking a cicada off a tree and landed on his forehead, bringing forth a new level of trauma to himself. He ended up fainting from the overexposure to his phobia, giving Shino the win by default. Again, Mizuki-yarou noted that Shino is not getting full marks because he technically did not defeat his opponent with taijutsu.

Chōji's fight was one of the quick ones, to be honest. His opponent had the upper hand in terms of actual taijutsu skill, however, his downfall was that he was not able to keep his mouth shut during a match. Chōji's opponent ended up calling him the Akimichi taboo word: fat. Never, ever, call an Akimichi fat. They are all sensitive to their 'pleasantly plump' figures. Demonstrated by how swiftly Chōji had decimated his opponent through the use of his clan's taijutsu. He, however, was disqualified by Mizuki-yarou, as Chōji ended up using a supplementary ninjutsu prior to executing his family taijutsu.

Sasuke volunteered to take on two opponents rather than just one. Mizuki-sensei had consulted with Iruka-sensei over it for a few moments then they both agreed to it as 'since Sasuke is advanced with his taijutsu, we are allowing him to face two opponents.' Although I can still sense a lot of negative emotion from Sasuke, I could tell that he was elated to have an additional opponent to fight against. The fight was a bit anti-climactic. Okay, make that very anti-climactic. See, Sasuke here is a bit of a genius in all three categories of the principles taught in the academy, so despite the additional opponent, he beat them without breaking a sweat. The only thing he did was grab the arm of the closest opponent and used said opponent to bat away the other opponent, knocking both opponents with one decisive move. I have to admit, it was impressive, he could have at least made it a bit more interesting though. However, since I was starting to feel the hunger pangs again after his match, I can appreciate his efficiency at the moment.

It eventually became my turn, ironically it was the last match before the end of the period. My opponent however is not exactly I favor that much. Inuzuka Kiba, also known as perverted flea-ridden dog boy. I mean the last three quips about him in the nicest way possible. He comes from a clan trains actual dogs to serve as their partners when they are ninja. I heard that they have formidable jutsu involving their partners, though I never really gotten to study them in-depth.

That is not because of a lack of trying however, it is just that whenever I get near their compound to observe them, either the dogs go crazy because they can easily smell me no matter how hard I hide myself and my scent, or my own senses betray me as I smell their rancid sweat from at least five hundred meters from their compound. Kiba here is no different, he may not be a clan heir as his clan is one of the only matriarchal ones existing, but he is just as feral and uncouth as his clan. Not to mention that he has the 'alpha' mentality, is just as bad as my persona in regards to academics, and very perverted. Boy, girl, it doesn't matter, Kiba will always have a flirtatious one-liner ready for any situation.

I did notice however that he has a funny look on his face whenever I am around, and whatever he wants to say tends to get derailed by sudden bouts of stammering. His face tends to get red like Hinata's sometimes when she gets flustered over something, but his face tends to scrunch up a bit. I cannot really tell what is going on with him, not even with the training I got from Ame-no-Uzume can help me determine what is going on in his head... I should probably leave his head alone in any case. Knowing Kiba as I know him now, his head is probably filled with perversions that I do not want to get into. As long as he does not try and grope me with his sharp nails of his, I am better off keeping an arm's reach away from dog boy.

* * *

 _ **The musings of a puppy**_

Fuck, why did I end up with Naruto?! Mizuki-sensei you jackass, the last think I want to get before I graduate is censure for harassment. Just look at him sensei, he is so small and dainty, if it were not for the fact that this was a simple spar I would end up killing him. I mean, I may not be the biggest dog in the pack but he is basically a runt compared to me, especially with that baggy orange jumpsuit of his, with the collar exposing the collarbone a bit trailing down to...

No bad dog, bad Kiba! Now is not the time to think about that! What you need to think about is how you are going to pass this taijutsu spar without hurting the little guy, who smells like sweet flowers, who is small enough for me to carry between my arms and... damn it! What the hell is wrong with me?! Kiba you are supposed to like girls, not this cute, little... whatever the hell he is!

"Hajime!"

Mizuki-sensei I am so going to get you for this! For now though, maybe I should just lightly claw at him, shove him around and just knock him down. Maybe that will be enough to get him to give up the fight. Yeah, remember Kiba, this is just a spar, a regular spar. A spar against a runty waif of a boy, but it is still a regular spar. Only... how in the hell is he dodging my every move, no wait how the hell is he bending like that?!

"Oi! Naruto, just let me hit you already and give up!"

"Urusai! I do not want to lose my lunch period so I am gonna make sure you lose!"

"How the fuck are you going to do that? I only see you dodging and bending, but I do not see you beating me anytime soon!"

"By doing this!"

All of a sudden, Naruto bent backwards with his hands touching the ground to dodge my last strike. With speed that I did not know he possessed, he was able to bring himself back upright and flip into the air. I felt something grab me, and for some reason, the world began spinning. I feel all dizzy. Why is everything going so fast? Why am I speeding towards the...

* * *

 _ **Back to our main character**_

"Shōsa! Uzumaki Naruto!"

I heard Iruka-sensei call out, sure there was no cheering or anything other than the clapping from Shikamaru, Chōji, Shino, and Hinata, but that is applause enough for me. Man, I would have thought that Kiba would be heavier than that, but flinging towards the ground required less force than I thought it would. I think I overdid it actually.

"Chotto matte kudasai! Iruka-san, don't you think that match went too smoothly? I mean look at him, do you really think that he was able to fling someone Kiba's size that easily? I don't think so, I think he used chakra in that throw."

Iruka-sensei slowly turned to Mizuki-yarou and gave him a look. It was a look that pretty much said 'Are you dumb?' While I am impressed that Iruka-sensei gave him that look, I wonder why that specific look. Technically Mizuki-sensei was right, I did use 'a little' chakra when I flung Kiba towards the ground. And when I was tossing him in mid-air. Oh, and maybe when I swiftly bent backwards to dodge every... okay fine I used a lot of 'passive' chakra when I was fighting Kiba, but can you blame me? I am at the point of desperation in my need to quench my need for sustenance.

"Hey Iruka-san why with that deadly glare all of a sudden?! Don't tell me you're sticking up for him?"

"Are you really that stupid Mizuki-san? Try to think back on who is in the very bottom of the lower rankings in terms of anything related to chakra."

Oh now I see the reason why. Part of my persona is that I am more physically oriented in terms of skill than chakra oriented. Though in reality I have way too much chakra for anyone, with the amount of time I had devoted to chakra control, I was able to fool a lot of the teachers in the academy that I have average capacity, but barely any control. Of course I did make sure that I have bouts of success in those parts of the curriculum so that I would not get kicked out for lack of skill. As long as I was able to put up a front that I am slowly improving but am still lackluster in terms of chakra skills, the better actually.

"The very bottom, but that would be... oh, right."

"That's right. Naruto has the lowest scores in those categories. Accusing of him having enough control to accomplish that is very redundant."

"But surely there must have been something amiss during their match."

"The only thing 'amiss' during the match is that Kiba, who has a very aggressive taijutsu style, had ended up with a bad match up against Naruto, who had developed a style made for disorienting an opponent. I believe he more than passed this sparring session."

"...Very well then Iruka-san, I stand by your judgement. Good job, Naruto. Keep up the good work and you'll be wearing a headband in no time."

Heh, can you believe this jackass. One minute he was all for failing me, and when someone points out his 'discreet' bias, he makes a full one-eighty. If it were not for the fact that I can sense his negative emotions simmering beneath his skin, I would have believed his words a bit more. A part of me wonders what would make a man have such a duplicitous character. There had to be something in his past that would have made him so... twisted.

I would have began to ponder more in the matter, if it were not for the cry coming from the sky. When I looked up, I saw that it was one of the Hokage's special messenger hawks. It had landed on top of the arm that Iruka-sensei had held out as a perch. The sharp talons of the hawk would have pierced through Iruka-sensei's arm, but since I did not smell any blood in the air, nor did I see any discomfort coming from Iruka-sensei, he must have either gotten used to it, or the sleeves of his uniform are more reinforced than I thought it would.

Iruka-sensei had taken off the small note from the hawk and pocketed it away in his jacket. He took out a small pellet, held it out for the hawk to take, and sent the hawk flying back off without any reply. Iruka-sensei reconvened with Mizuki-yarou and began to talk in hushed whispers. I strained my hearing to listen in, but the only words I could understand are 'meeting' and 'genin exams'. Jiji must have used an anti-eavesdropping seal on the note so that any of the contents can only be discussed by the intended parties involved. The sensei had turned back to face us with serious expressions on their faces, which tells me that whatever was in that note, it was most probably of top priority.

"Attention students. Iruka-sensei, myself, and the other sensei in the Academy, will be having a meeting with the Hokage for an urgent matter. Please consider yourselves excused for the day. Is there anything else you would like to add Iruka-san?"

"Yes. Please do take note of any announcements that may show up on the bulletin board near the entrance sometime this week, and do remember to be prepared for the upcoming examinations. Thank you and that will be all."

Interesting. It is rare that we are called off for the rest of the day. Especially considering it is so close to the genin exams. I would have thought that the sensei would have tried to oversee our progress a bit more, but I guess this matter is more than just urgent. I wonder if we would actually find out soon enough.

" _Konnushi-chan, instead of waiting, why not try and sneak into the meeting. Now is a good opportunity to practice your information gathering skills after all."_

 _-You have a point there Ku-chan, but of course we have other priorities to take care of.-_

" _Such as?"_

 _-Food. Need to eat now, I am getting really hungry.-_

" _Konnushi-chan, you did remember that you sealed a bento in your scroll right?"_

 _-Fine. I'll eat that instead of ramen. Just know I am still having a ton of ramen later-_

" _We are still going to prank that sensei of yours right?"_

 _-You need to even ask?-_

" _With you. Maybe not."_

 _-Good, now let me go get a quick bite and we can snoop in the meeting.-_

* * *

 ** _3/25/2017 - Minor spelling corrections made_**


End file.
